Ravil Kamilevich Mingazov is a citizen of Russia who was held in extrajudicial detention for almost fifteen years in the United States's Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba.[3] The Department of Defense reports that Mingazov was born on December 5, 1967, in Bolsheretski, Russia.

Ravil Kamilevich Mingazov
Ravil Mingazov`s official Guantanamo identity portrait
Born (1967-12-05) December 5, 1967 (age 56)[1][2]
Bolsheretski, Russia
ArrestedPakistan
Pakistani officials
CitizenshipRussian
Detained at Guantanamo
ISN702
Charge(s)No charge extrajudicial detention
Status

Ravil Mingazov arrived at Guantanamo on October 28, 2002, and was held at Guantanamo for 14 years, 2 months and 22 days.[4][5][6][7][8]

Mingazov, an ethnic Tatar, was a ballet dancer, before he joined the Soviet army.[9] Anti-Muslim harassment drove Mingazov to leave Russia for Tajikistan, in 2000.

Mingazov was approved for transfer on July 21, 2016.[10] He was transferred to the United Arab Emirates on January 19, 2017.

Official status reviews

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Office for the Administrative Review of Detained Enemy Combatants

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Following the Supreme Court's ruling in Rasul v. Bush the DoD was required to read a notice to every captive informing them that they would have an opportunity to learn why they were being held, and to offer a response, at their Combatant Status Review Tribunal.

Scholars at the Brookings Institution, led by Benjamin Wittes, listed the captives still held in Guantanamo in December 2008, according to whether their detention was justified by certain common allegations:[11]

  • Ravil Mingazov was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges ... are associated with Al Qaeda."[11]
  • Ravil Mingazov was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges ... stayed in Al Qaeda, Taliban or other guest- or safehouses."[11]
  • Ravil Mingazov was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges ... took military or terrorist training in Afghanistan."[11]
  • Ravil Mingazov was listed as one of the captives who "The military alleges that the following detainees were captured under circumstances that strongly suggest belligerency."[11]
  • Ravil Mingazov was listed as one of the captives who was an "al Qaeda operative".[11]
  • Ravil Mingazov was listed as one of the "34 [captives] admit to some lesser measure of affiliation—like staying in Taliban or Al Qaeda guesthouses or spending time at one of their training camps."[11]
  • Ravil Mingazov was listed as one of the captives who had "stayed at Taliban or Al Qaeda guesthouses."[11]
  • Ravil Mingazov was listed as one of the captives who had admitted "some form of associational conduct."[11]

Writ of habeas corpus

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On May 13, 2010, US District Court Judge Henry H. Kennedy, Jr., the Obama administration to release Mingazov under the writ of habeas corpus.[9][12][13] Mingazov's was the 35 case where the judge ordered a release. The government had succeeded in convincing a habeas corpus judge continued detention was justified in an additional 13 cases.

A panel of judges on the Washington DC court of appeals reversed Kennedy's release order.[9]

Formerly secret JTF-GTMO assessment

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On April 25, 2011, the whistleblower organization WikiLeaks published formerly secret assessments prepared by Joint Task Force Guantanamo.[14][15] Ravil’s assessment was nine pages and recommended continued detention under DoD Control.[16] It was signed by camp commandant Mark H. Buzby.

Guantanamo Joint Task Force Review

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On January 20, 2009, newly inaugurated President Barack Obama issued several Presidential Executive Orders related to the Guantanamo detention center – which he had promised to close during his presidential campaign. Those Executive Orders set up a Guantanamo Review Task Force, intended to replace OARDEC. In October 2013, Freedom of Information Act requests submitted by Carol Rosenberg and her colleagues at the Miami Herald triggered the publication of a list of "final dispositions".[17] According to that list Ravil Mingazov should be "referred for prosecution".

Repatriation discussions

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Russian officials are scheduled to travel to Guantanamo on January 17, 2014, to meet with Mingazov.[13] According to the Moscow Times, visiting Russian officials had been turned away in April 2013, because Mingazov had declined to meet with them.[18]

Asylum in the United Kingdom

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On November 6, 2015, The Guardian reported that Mingazov's teenage son and his former wife now live in the United Kingdom, and that his family had filed an asylum application on his behalf.[9] His son and former wife arrived in the UK in 2014, and live with other relatives of Mingazov there.[19]

Transfer to the United Arab Emirates

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Mingazov was one of the last four individuals to be transferred from Guantanamo before the end of Barack Obama's Presidency.[19] Mingazov, an Afghan, Wali Mohammed, and a Yemeni, Yassim Qasim Mohammed Ismail Qasim, were transferred to the United Arab Emirates, while Jabran al-Qahtani was repatriated to Saudi Arabia, on January 19, 2017, just one day prior to Donald Trump's inauguration. Trump had promised to curtail all transfers from Guantanamo.

Release in Russia

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Mingazov was released and repatriated to Russia on August 7, 2024.[20]

References

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  1. ^ https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/82625-isn-702-ravil-mingazov-jtf-gtmo-detainee/c0a7545edae1f77e/full.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  2. ^ https://www.prs.mil/Portals/60/Documents/ISN702/20160318_U_ISN_702_GOVERNMENTS_UNCLASSIFIED_SUMMARY_PUBLIC.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  3. ^ "List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 2006-05-15.   Works related to List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba from January 2002 through May 15, 2006 at Wikisource
  4. ^ "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (ordered and consolidated version)" (PDF). Center for the Study of Human Rights in the Americas, from DoD data. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-13.
  5. ^ "Guantanamo Docket: Ravil Mingazov". New York Times. November 2008. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  6. ^ Douglas K. Spaulding (2008-08-19). "Guantanamo Bay Detainee Litigation: Doc 88 -- petitioners' status report" (PDF). United States Department of Justice. Retrieved 2008-08-23. mirror
  7. ^ Diane Lederman (2009-11-10). "Ravil Mingazov, one of Guantanamo Bay detention camp refugees Amherst is considering offering resettlement to, wanted by Interpol". Massachusetts Live. Archived from the original on 2009-11-13. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
  8. ^ JTF-GTMO (2007-03-16). "Measurements of Heights and Weights of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba". Department of Defense. Archived from the original on 2009-01-25. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  9. ^ a b c d "Russian Guantánamo detainee poses fresh diplomatic dilemma for UK". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2015-11-06. Now his Washington DC-based lawyers have filed an official application with the UK Home Office appealing for Mingazov to be allowed to rejoin his family, who were granted political asylum in the UK last year. His 15-year-old son Yusef and former wife Dilyara Mingazov live in Nottingham along with several relatives.
  10. ^ Carol Rosenberg (2016-07-25). "Parole board OKs release of Guantánamo's last Russian captive". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 2016-07-26. Retrieved 2017-01-22. His attorney said Monday that Mingazov would resist going back to his homeland, which Thompson said has sent delegations to meet Mingazov at this base and informed him he would be punished for fleeing Russia without permission.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i Benjamin Wittes; Zaathira Wyne (2008-12-16). "The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empirical Study" (PDF). The Brookings Institution. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-05-19. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
  12. ^ Carol Rosenberg (2010-05-14). "Russian dancer ordered freed in Guantanamo habeas case". McClatchy News Service. Archived from the original on 2010-05-16. Retrieved 2013-12-30. A federal court on Thursday ordered the Pentagon to set free from Guantáaamo a former Russian Army ballet dancer turned devout Muslim whose plight captured the imagination of a Massachusetts college town.
  13. ^ a b "Russian Delegation to Meet Guantanamo Prisoner". Moscow: Ria Novosti. 2013-12-27. Archived from the original on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30. "We will use this visit and put the question bluntly so that this special facility will be closed as soon as possible," Dolgov said, noting that the long-discussed meeting had been delayed for "many months, if not years" because conditions for the visit had not been agreed upon with the US.
  14. ^ "WikiLeaks: The Guantánamo files database". The Telegraph (UK). 2011-04-27. Archived from the original on 2011-04-29. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  15. ^ "Guantanamo Bay detainee file on Ravil Mingazov, US9RS-000702DP, passed to the Telegraph by Wikileaks". The Telegraph (UK). 2011-04-27. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
  16. ^ Mark H. Buzby (2008-03-14). "Recommendation for Continued Detention Under DoD Control (CD) for Guantanamo Detainee, ISN US9RS-00072DP" (PDF). Joint Task Force Guantanamo. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-17. Retrieved 2012-07-11.   Media related to File:ISN 00702, Min Gazov Aviril's Guantanamo detainee assessment.pdf at Wikimedia Commons
  17. ^ Guantanamo Review Task Force (January 22, 2010). "Guantanamo Review Dispositions: Final Dispositions as of January 22, 2010" (PDF). United States Department of Defense. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-30. Ravil Mingazov Referred for prosecution.   Works related to Guantanamo Review Dispositions -- Final Dispositions as of January 22, 2010 at Wikisource
  18. ^ "Foreign Ministry's Rights Commissioner to Visit Russian Inmate at Guantanamo Bay Prison". Moscow Times. 2014-01-17. Archived from the original on 2014-01-17. Retrieved 2014-01-17. In April 2013, the U.S. barred a Russian delegation from visiting Mingazov at the base in Cuba on the grounds that the prisoner had refused to meet them.
  19. ^ a b Tracy Walker (2017-01-21). "Guantanamo Bay prisoner with 'Al Qaeda links' who wanted to come to Nottingham is now free". Nottingham Post. Archived from the original on 2024-05-28. Retrieved 2017-01-22. Now his legal team have confirmed that the Russian national is now out of jail, and that he is currently in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
  20. ^ "Ex-Guantánamo Detainee Forcibly Repatriated to Russia Despite Fears of Torture". 8 August 2024.
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